Charities run out of fuel in Arakan State

By Admin 05 Jan 2024

DMG Newsroom
5 January 2024, Sittwe

Local charities in Arakan State have run out of fuel amid the escalating armed conflict between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA), which has resulted in dozens of civilian casualties to date.

Charities that provide free ambulance services have been barely operational.

A member of the Shwe Yaung Metta Foundation, based in Sittwe, said: “It has nearly been a month since we ran out of fuel. However, we still provide ambulance service upon request if we can buy fuel from roadside fuel vendors. Sometimes, the ambulance has run out of fuel on the way and our members have had to push the ambulance.”

It has been nearly two months since the regime blockaded roads and waterways in Arakan State. Local people are facing severe shortages of fuel, pharmaceuticals and food items.

Local people have accused filling stations of charging high prices for fuel stocks they had stockpiled before the road blockade. A litre of fuel currently sells for around 25,000 kyats.

“We only operate for emergencies now. We have to pay high prices for fuel, and still it is difficult to buy it,” said the member of the Shwe Yaung Metta Foundation.

Only charities are allowed to pass junta checkpoints to transport patients that need urgent care, but are still subject to tight checks.

“There are no healthcare facilities in rural areas. In case of a medical emergency, we have to go to hospitals in the town. Previously, it only cost a little money to go to hospital by boat from our village. But due to the blockade, we have to seek the help of charities now,” said a woman from Pauktaw Township.

“In the previous fighting, vehicles provided free transportation services for people to travel from Kyauktaw to Ponnagyun and Sittwe. But fuel is short in supply as a result of the blockade by the military council, and we suffer as a result,” said a Kyauktaw resident.

Local people have called on the regime to lift its travel restrictions.